Adjustable support for cycle saddle

ABSTRACT

An adjustable support for cycle saddles which comprises an elongated member to be connected at one end thereof, to the end plate or axle of the rear wheel of the cycle, the member extending upwardly for connection to the saddle at the rear portion thereof and having a series of holes, a one-piece clamping bracket for the member adapted to be bolted to its respective end plate, said bracket including an integral locking key in the form of a bent over tang entering into a selected hole in the respective member of the support and being self-locking thereto when connected to the end plate or axle.

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[54] ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR CYCLE 3,405,894 10/1968 Jordan et al...248/125 )4 SADDLE 3,486,777 l2/l969 Bird ..287/54 c [72] Inventor:Martin J. Bird, Norwalk, Ohio Primary Examiner Andrew V. Kundrat [73]Assignee: Persons-Majestic Mtg. Company, Wor- Att rney-Charles R.Fay

cester, Mass. 221 Filed: Oct. 8, 1970 [57] ABSTMCT [211 App] No 79 065An adjustable support for cycle saddles which comprises an elongatedmember to be connected at one end thereof, to the end plate or axle ofthe rear wheel of the cycle, the member I 137/5413, 230/289, 297/195extending upwardly for connection to the saddle at the rear l l l [11L vr 7/00 portion thereof and having a series of holes, a one-piece I58]Held of Search ..297/l95; 248/125, 280/289; clamping brackm f h memberadapted to be bolted to its 287/54 C respective end plate, said bracketincluding an integral locking key in the form of a bent over tangentering into a selected [56] References (med hole in the respectivemember of the support and being self- UNITED STATES PATENTS lockingthereto when connected to the end plate or axle.

3,486,727 12/1969 Timms ..297/l95 X 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PMEWEU Mn 8 W2 FIG.5

INVENTOR 7/72 15 1 5% BY wad/@2 ATTORNEY I ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR CYCLESADDLE BACKGROUND OF TI-IE INVENTION The provision of adjustablesupports, braces, or struts supporting a cycle saddle from the hubportion of the rear wheel, presents a problem in that itis difficult toprovide an inexpensive adjustment which at the same time is quick andeasy to assemble correctly while providing sufficient strength to standup under the hard usage ordinarily given these members. It has beenproposed to have a bracket surrounding each of the legs of the support,the. bracket being bolted to the end plates and interengaging means onthe bracket and the leg of the support, see US. Pat. No. 3,486,777 datedDec. 30, 1969, but this requires the disengagement of the interengagingmeans before the adjustment can be made, and at times the interengagingmeans, a key, is incorrectly and thus ineffectuall'y assembled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves this problem byproviding a one-piece locking bracket having a tang or tangs whichextend through a hole or holes in a series of holes in the respectivemember of the cycle support, the tangs being arranged at the oppositeside of the member from the end plate of the hub, the tangs lying at anangle to the main part of the bracket. This maintains the parts inposition when assembled to the end plate. It will be seen that it is avery simple operation to apply or remove the bracket so that the bracketis easily moved along the member for adjustment because there are nointerengaging parts between the bracket and the member except the tangs.No separate locking key is needed.

Furthermore the row of spaced holes in the member face to the rear andthis provides for a handier place for manipulation of the parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in front elevationillustrating the attachment of one of the members of the support withrelation to a respective end plate of a cycle;

FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof with the end plate removed;

FIG. 3 is a section on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation looking in the direction of arrow 4 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a modification, and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the modification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In illustrating the invention itis shown as applied to a generally conventional bicycle which has theusual frame, front wheel, handlebars, saddle, etc., these not beingshown as being unnecessary to an understanding of the invention. Howeverreference numerals l0, 10 indicate the two end plates for usual frameparts I2, 12, the axle being shown at A, the end plates l0, 10 beinggenerally parallel but spaced by the usual hub on the axle. The cyclesaddle support is of the type comprising an elongated U-shapedtwo-legged member as is well known, and in this case only the lower endsof the two legs (members) thereof are shown, these being indicated at114, 14. Thesemembers are alike and extend upwardly tobe connected tothe rear portion of the saddle as is well known in order to support thelatter at the rear portion thereof.

, In the present case the lower ends of the legs 14 are provided with aseries of indentations I6, 16, 16, which are conveniently pressed orpunched so as to provide a generally funnellike impressed efiect, seeFIG. 2, surrounding the actual openings 20, these openings being at therear of the legs (members) as respects the entire cycle.

A completely one-piece bracket which is generally in dicated at 22 isformed with a generally flat base 24 having a hole 25 for reception of abolt for securing it to the end plate,

or to receive the axle. The flat plate extends in an arcuate bend as at26 to part|ally surround leg 14 when in place and then terminates in atang 28. This tang is generally straight lying at an acute anglerelative to base 24 and in effect pointing, at an angle, towards thefront, in the direction of the base 24.

The apertures 20 may be elongated to receive a relatively wide tang, forstability, and when bolted to the end plate or received on an axle, theconnection is strong and rigid. This effect is enhanced by the fact thatwith the tang located as shown, fully home in its hole, the base 24 ofbracket 22 lies in a nonparallel relation to the end plate 10, see FIG.3, and acts as its own spring washer.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a slight modification wherein two spaced tangs 30, 30are utilized on bracket 22 for greater stability. In this case the holes20' can substantially round but must be placed on even centers forremoval and attachment for adjustment.

I claim:

I. The combination of a plate and an elongated member with a bracket forsecuring the plate to the member,

said bracket comprising a unitary piece having a portion thereofoverlying said plate and another curved portion partially encompassingthe elongated member,

. an aperture in said elongated member at a side aspect thereof remotefrom said plate, and a tang integral with the terminal end portion ofsaid curved portion of the bracket lodged in the member through saidaperture,

said tang extending in a direction toward the plate and being at aninclination with respect thereto.

2. The combination of claim ll including a second tang entering a secondaperture in said elongated member.

3. The combination of claim I including a series of apertures in saidelongated member, said apertures being mutually spaced therealong foradjustment of said bracket relatively with respect thereto.

4. The combination of claim I including a series of aper tures in saidelongated member, said apertures being mutually spaced therealong foradjustment of said bracket relatively with respect thereto, and a secondtang on said curved portion of said bracket, said second tang enteringthe next adjacent aperture with respect to the first tang, saidapertures being spaced apart correspondingly to the spacing of the tangon the bracket.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein the plate is in a fixed positionand the respective position of said aperture and tang with respect tothe flat portion of said bracket is such that the latter is originallyin a canted position with respect to the plate, and including fasteningmeans for securing the canted portion of the bracket with respect to theplate in flatwise condition so that the flat portion of the bracket actsas a spring washer.

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1. The combination of a plate and an elongated member with a bracket forsecuring the plate to the member, said bracket comprising a unitarypiece having a portion thereof overlying said plate and another curvedportion partially encompassing the elongated member, an aperture in saidelongated member at a side aspect thereof remote from said plate, and atang integral with the terminal end portion of said curved portion ofthe bracket lodged in the member through said aperture, said tangextending in a direction toward the plate and being at an inclinationwith respect thereto.
 2. The combination of claim 1 including a secondtang entering a second aperture in said elongated member.
 3. Thecombination of claim 1 including a series of apertures in said elongatedmember, said apertures being mutually spaced therealong for adjustmentof said bracket relatively with respect thereto.
 4. The combination ofclaim 1 including a series of apertures in said elongated member, saidapertures being mutually spaced therealong for adjustment of saidbracket relatively with respect thereto, and a second tang on saidcurved portion of said bracket, said second tang entering the nextadjacent aperture with respect to the first tang, said apertures beingspaced apart correspondingly to the spacing of the tang on the bracket.5. The combination of claim 1 wherein the plate is in a fixed positionand the respective position of said aperture and tang with respect tothe flat portion of said bracket is such that the latter is originallyin a canted position with respect to the plate, and including fasteningmeans for securing the canted portion of the bracket with respect to theplate in flatwise condition so that the flat portion of the bracket actsas a spring washer.